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NZ Apprentice of the Year finalists

PrintNZ has named 11 finalists from print and related industries for the Apprentice of the Year award to be presented at the Pride in Print Awards gala dinner in May.

'An industry with a strong future': Ruth Cobb, PrintNZ

In making the announcement, Ruth Cobb, GM of PrintNZ, told a Training Graduation ceremony hosted by PrintNZ and Competenz in Christchurch that people outside the industry often associate print with only three areas and don’t recognise the many other products produced within the industry.

“Everyone gets the obvious ones like books, newspapers and magazines, but there are so many other things being produced by our industry every day that many take for granted such as labels, street signs, packaging – imagine going to the supermarket if there was no printing.

“Our industry requires skilled workers to produce excellent products and today that’s what we are here for – to celebrate those people who have made a commitment to our industry by undertaking a training programme, and the employers that have recognised their talent and provided them with the opportunity to do so. Seeing the number of qualified staff entering the industry is encouraging as this is a tangible sign that print is an industry with a strong future.

“These aren’t just trade qualifications like printing, packaging, print finishing and direct mail – it takes a team to run a successful business and each of those team members has their own area of expertise. So today we have graduates that have completed programmes in sales, business, health and safety, competitive manufacturing, first line management and the print management diploma.”

• Apprentice of the Year Finalists:

o Wade Jones-Labelmakers Ltd, Hamilton

o Ngatokoa Kaokao-Jenkins Freshpac SystemsLtd, Tauranga

o Taryn Gannaway-Beacon Print Ltd, Whakatane

o Ryan Fraser-Rocket Print Ltd, Auckland

o Robert Kemp-Brebner Print, Napier

o Brett Pulford – Beacon Print Hawke’s Bay Ltd

o Myra Anderson-Printing.com Wellington

o Robert Pearce-Pakworld Ltd, Christchurch

o Frederick D’Rozario-Images Unlimited, Christchurch

o Hannah Eades-Goose Screen Design, Christchurch

o Nicholas Ball-Coveris, Christchurch

• Apprentice of the Year Top 5 Finalist:

Robert Pearce, Pakworld Ltd – Christchurch

• Diploma of Print Management Finalist:

Graham Simpson, Wellington City Council – Wellington

• Trainer of the Year Finalist:

Jared Maxwell-Smith, Electronic Imaging Limited – Christchurch

• Training Company of the Year Finalists:

Hally Labels – Christchurch

Kiwi Labels – Christchurch

Electronic Imaging Ltd – Christchurch

Fairfax Media Christchurch

• Top Binding and Finishing Apprentice:

Elisha Pahia, PMP Print Auckland.

Further finalists in each category will be announced at the North Island Training Graduation in Auckland in 22 March.

The overall Apprentice of the Year winner, Training Company of the Year and Trainer of the Year will all be announced at the Pride in Print Awards gala dinner on 12 May in Christchurch.

The event was supported by BJ Ball Papers, Fujifilm and Tharstern. Further information about upcoming training events is available at www.printnz.co.nz/events